‘We are not afraid of hate’: local Jews mark Hanukkah

Outside, the Menorah Mobile sat parked near private security and a police cruiser.

Inside, kids ran around, laughing and screaming, colouring a giant “Happy Chanukah” sign. Annual festivities celebrating Hanukkah were in full force at Chabad-Lubavitch of Winnipeg — but this year, a deadly attack in Australia hung overhead.

“One thing I always tell my friends is that with all this kind of hate, we’ve got to stick together and rise up against antisemitism,” said Seth Baker.

He weaved through first-day-of Hanukkah event attendees in a cheerful “Let’s Get Lit” sweater. He’s been trying to attend more community gatherings over the past couple years, he said, amid headlines of antisemitic cases.

Jews in Winnipeg awoke Sunday to news of gunmen killing people at a Hanukkah celebration on Sydney’s Bondi Beach. By Sunday evening, 15 had been counted dead.

“Coming here today just shows, just proves that we are not afraid of hate,” Baker said.

Upwards of 400 people had registered to attend. The Jewish learning centre’s hall was full; people stood on the wings and in the back as a giant menorah’s first candle was lit.

Still, Winnipeg’s Jewish community has been “on edge” over the past year amid antisemitic incidents, said Rabbi Avrohom Altein, Chabad-Lubavitch of Winnipeg’s board chair.

In January, a 19-year-old man faced a flurry of charges, including 26 counts of mischief reportedly tied to antisemitic graffiti in Charleswood. City police have urged people to not remove such graffiti for investigation purposes.

The Israel-Hamas conflict passed its two-year mark this October.

The message of Hanukkah is all the more relevant, Altein said: “You don’t fight darkness with more darkness. You can only fight darkness with light.”

He and fellow speakers encouraged attendees to stand together. They referenced a Jewish history filled with struggle.

“We will continue to persevere the way that those before us have done for thousands of years,” said Ben Carr, MP for Winnipeg South Centre and a member of Winnipeg’s Jewish community.

Later, he told a reporter he has also noted anxiety among local Jews. The feds are working on Bill C-9, an act to amend the Criminal Code. The legislation is being reviewed by a standing committee; if passed, it’ll create offences for wilfully promoting hatred of groups through public symbols and for intimidating people entering places of worship, among other things.

Security has been on site the past few Hanukkah celebrations, Sunday attendees said.

The security at Jewish gatherings around the world should be “tight” as the Israel-Hamas battle persists, said Denis Fugel.

“We are not bad people,” Fugel continued, looking around the Chabad-Lubavitch hall. “I’m wishing peace to everybody.”

Event leads had planned to hold Winnipeg’s first Hanukkah drone show Sunday. The plan was scrapped due to wind.

“We do believe in embracing technology and using it in order to spread the ancient traditions, values and messages,” said Rabbi Boruch Heidingsfeld, an event co-organizer.

Menorahs are traditionally lit and shown in doorways and windows. Organizers had hoped to showcase the menorah via a drone formation in the night sky.

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“This ties into the whole idea of publicizing the miracle,” Heidingsfeld said of the drone show.

A Hanukkah celebration is planned at Winnipeg’s city hall for today. Next Sunday, a Hanukkah parade will begin at Chabad-Lubavitch. The procession will continue around River Heights.

Chabad-Lubavitch will also drive its Menorah Mobile around, like years past, showcasing a giant lamp and giving families menorahs.

— with files from the Associated Press

gabrielle.piche@winnipegfreepress.com

Gabrielle Piché
Reporter

Gabrielle Piché reports on business for the Free Press. She interned at the Free Press and worked for its sister outlet, Canstar Community News, before entering the business beat in 2021. Read more about Gabrielle.

Every piece of reporting Gabrielle produces is reviewed by an editing team before it is posted online or published in print — part of the Free Press‘s tradition, since 1872, of producing reliable independent journalism. Read more about Free Press’s history and mandate, and learn how our newsroom operates.